PM Justin Trudeau's Canada

[Thorns_Embrace]

Summed up in 2 letters. BS

How is this BS? The fact that french language proficiency is a requirement to be PM overly biases a small subset of the population.

 

[Videodrome]

But with the NDP imploding, it will be a majority for either the Cons or Libs. Unless Singh can rebuild an orange wave. Quebecers will be drawn to Trudeau as a defender against a Con, western, Anglo and ( to the more racist) indigenous attack against them.

Do you think the PPC can make a big enough dent to stop any CPC gains?

[B]Don Martin[/B]‏Verified account @[B]DonMartinCTV[/B] 30m30 minutes ago
More
Don Martin Retweeted Nathan Cullen

This is not going to be good news for @theJagmeetSingh if, as expected, @nathancullen is leaving politics.

Wow, that is a huge loss for the NDP.

 

[steveintoronto]

Sorry, but essentially the french language "rule" was brought in by Pierre Trudeau to ensure that a Laurentian Elite would always be PM.

I don't understand what this has to do with JWR's being "functionally French", which she is, which is why I posted all I have to substantiate the point. Perhaps some have an attention span shorter than mine and....Squirrel! Over there!

But if some insist on labouring the Strawman (contrary to workplace legislation) then it's time to post this to add another twist to the game:

Richard Cleroux, Law Times
The Hill: The wrangle over bilingualism
August 29, 2016

Justice Thomas Cromwell of Atlantic Canada is retiring Sept 1. Another justice is urgently needed for the fall session.
Recently, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sent his cabinet’s best legal expert, Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, to face the Commons Justice committee to explain his government’s complicated new process for choosing future Supreme Court judges.
Some MPs, notably former Conservative justice minister Rob Nicholson of Niagara Falls, worried that the new judge might not come from Atlantic Canada, leaving those four provinces without a single justice on the bench of the highest court in the land. Wilson-Raybould had to admit that under Trudeau’s new rules Atlantic Canada might be left out. It all depends on who is chosen, initially by the special advisory committee headed by former prime minister Kim Campbell, then ultimately by who Trudeau puts on the bench. By law, Ontario and Quebec are guaranteed three seats each, but there is no similar guarantee for any Atlantic province.
Wilson-Raybould said the prime minister cares a great deal about Atlantic Canada getting a seat again on the Supreme Court.
If it’s so important to him, asked Nicholson, why didn’t he make it a criterion that the new justice coming in to replace Justice Cromwell comes from Atlantic Canada?
And, in addition, why did Trudeau resort to sending out letters to newspapers to announce his new system of choosing justices instead of running such a law through Parliament? Why snub MPs?
The justice minister replied: “Our next appointment to the Supreme Court justice may not be from Atlantic Canada.”
“That is a mistake,” shot back Nicholson. “You’ve painted yourself very clearly on that point.”
The big issue on this day at the committee was language. That’s because Trudeau and Wilson-Raybould have been saying that the new justice will have to be “functionally bilingual.”
Candidates brought forward from Kim Campbell’s advisory committee will be “functionally bilingual,” Wilson-Raybould told the justice committee.
“But what does ‘functionally bilingual’ mean?” asked New Democratic Party leader Thomas Mulcair. Mulcair was getting worked up. It sounded to him like the Liberals were making up a new term to pass off a unilingual judge as bilingual for political reasons. Mulcair, son of an Irish father and French-Canadian mother, said he has known French and English for years and he’s never heard of the term “functional” used in the context of bilingualism.
“It’s not clear what that means,” Mulcair continued. Does it mean speaking both official languages, he asked?
The minister tried to duck the question. Finally, she replied that “functionally” means the new judge will be able to understand oral and written arguments presented in court without the aid of an interpreter. So will it be expected the new judge speaks both languages? Mulcair insisted.
Wilson-Raybould replied that “functional bilingualism” means the new justice may not be able to have a conversation in both official languages with a lawyer appearing before the bench. Mulcair said it sounded to him that “functionally bilingual” could be used for a judge to claim being bilingual without being able to speak both Canadian official languages. And such a justice certainly wouldn’t be helpful to the lawyer talking to the bench. Not being able to speak a second official language isn’t bilingualism, Mulcair said.
Wilson-Raybould answered back: “The meaning of ‘functional bilingualism’ will be developed in the office of the Federal Judicial Affairs.” She added that “an assessment” will be made to “ensure the candidate chosen will be bilingual.”
Visibly upset, Mulcair snapped back. “So, there’s going to be a test?”
Wilson-Raybould hesitated and then said: “That’s going to be something for the office to determine to be conclusive that the candidate brought forward is functionally bilingual.”
Then she added, “meaning that the justice has the ability to understand oral and written argument without the aid of an interpreter.”
So the committee was back where it began earlier and Mulcair, who appeared at least “functionally” upset, appeared worried that the Liberals are trying to pass off a unilingual judge as a bilingual judge.
There are indications that what happened at the committee hearing will force the prime minister to come up with something a lot better than a “functionally bilingual” candidate as his new judicial appointment to the Supreme Court.
To earn the title “bilingual” a new justice may actually have to be able to speak both English and French.
Richard Cleroux is a freelance reporter and columnist on Parliament Hill. His e-mail address isrichardcleroux34@gmail.com.

The Hill: The wrangle over bilingualism

www.lawtimesnews.com

JWR does not speak French.

And yet again, to make my point: JWR is bilingual. Her French is not as good as her English, the latter of which she speaks very well. I've sent transcripts to both US and the UK associates as an example of not only an extremely bright, articulate and informed person, but one superbly aware of legal details, and how to comport herself when presenting them. At a time when the US is floundering on A-G issues, and the UK was riven by Lord Goldsmith's role in the UK Privy Council under Blair's Iraq War 'justification' (The UK has separate A-G and Justice Minister roles, and the A-G is totally independent, as an A-G should be) then JWR's stance and dignity stands tall internationally, as well as nationally.

And as a subjective and some might call 'sexist' comment, I find her stunningly beautiful. She radiates! She gives me hope, on many things...We need more like this.

Edit to Add: In a wistful hope that the mention of Lord Goldsmith might ring some bells (...the sound of crickets chirping...) and JWR's alluding to the "Westminster Model" in answer to one of Lisa Raitt's uncharacteristically intelligent and gracious questions, the following might be of interest to some, note the juxtapositions:

[...]
The Attorney General has been involved in a series of controversies, most notably over how and why his legal advice to the Government on the Iraq invasion was changed.

It emerged in 2005 that he had expressed private concerns to Mr Blair about the legality of war. Documents that emerged following requests under freedom of information laws show that he told officials he had changed his mind 'after further reflection'.

Lord Goldsmith, the Government's chief legal adviser, has insisted he came under no political pressure to change his view. But the discrepancy between his initial advice and later, public view would be a main focus of any future inquiry into the case for war.

There was further controversy over Lord Goldsmith's refusal to step aside from any decisions over possible prosecutions in the cash-for-honours affair, despite his close relationship with some of the key players.

But his decision to stand down means he will play no role in deciding whether to prosecute members of Tony Blair's inner circle over the affair.

In contrast, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir Ken Macdonald QC - who for three years was a member of The Chambers, where Cherie Blair practises - announced some time ago that he will stand back from any decision to avoid any 'perceived conflict of interest'.

Lord Goldsmith was also forced to deny claims that he changed his mind about whether there was enough evidence to bring corruption charges against the arms company BAE after pressure from Downing Street.

Just this month,the Serious Fraud Office stepped in to insist Lord Goldsmith had not ordered claims about alleged payments from BAE to a Saudi prince to be covered up.

Senior Labour figures - including Justice Minister and deputy leadership contender Harriet Harman - believe future Attorneys General must not sit in the Cabinet to avoid similar controversies.

Meanwhile, MPs on the Commons constitutional affairs committee have started an inquiry into the role.
[...]

I QUIT, says Attorney General Lord Goldsmith

One of the most controversial figures in Tony Blair's government announced he will step down with the Prime Minister next week.

www.standard.co.uk

And keep in mind that JWR is still under a partial gag order! There's more to come, folks...

 

[steveintoronto]

I wouldn’t want to be a shareholder or employee of SNC Lavalin nowadays, looks like you’re going to be hurt badly. Though I predict the courts will acquit the company of the worst charges, so this whole pressure on the AG wasn’t necessary

This is interesting, I meant to address this when I first read it, as what you state is being repeated by others too, not only in terms of share value and potential growth or not, but in terms of 'people retaining jobs' and thus the argument of "too big to fail" being espoused by Morneau, Trudeau et al.

Here's the thing, contrary to claims, SNC-L effectively won't go anywhere. It might well dissolve, if some stories are to be believed, but the essence of the company won't just evaporate, or the corporate know-how and organization, it will just 'open shop again' under a new name and/or new management.

The reason SNC-L is as large as it is is that there's a lack of like companies in Canada to fill that role. This isn't a case of 'too much competition to slice the pie and survive'...it's one of (and BBD fits the same musty mold) bad management doing stupid things and getting caught. Illegal things.

That must not be overlooked! Accomodated? Yes, but not to see bad actors go free. The entity will survive, whether the bad apples are punished or not.

 

[Thorns_Embrace]

Do you think the PPC can make a big enough dent to stop any CPC gains?



Wow, that is a huge loss for the NDP.

I think the PPC is going to dump all there money in a few ridings where they believe they have a chance. The others will show similar results to the byelections with less than 5% of the vote. So the vote split isn't going to be a big issue but it MAY affect a few ridings, and by that i mean less than 5.

Also are there any safe NDP ridings left? it feels like everyone is leaving.

 

[Northern Light]

How is this BS? The fact that french language proficiency is a requirement to be PM overly biases a small subset of the population.

Let us review if we must; but in future, I would prefer you to think for yourself.

a) There is no such rule. Yes it has become 'custom and practice'. But it is NOT a legal requirement.

b) It has nothing to do with 'Laurentian Elites' ........ someone's been reading too much Ibbitson...........

c) Wilson-Reybould speaks French

d) Learning French at a passable level (which is all Harper ever had) is not that challenging, and if you can't manage that..........you're likely not fit for the job.

e) Lastly, almost 1/3 of all Canadians are fluently bilingual (that's far greater than the entirety of the Quebec population (22% of Canada's population) A far greater number have also been exposed to French instruction in schools and would not need that much of a boost to achieve passable fluency.

 

[Videodrome]

I think the PPC is going to dump all there money in a few ridings where they believe they have a chance. The others will show similar results to the byelections with less than 5% of the vote. So the vote split isn't going to be a big issue but it MAY affect a few ridings, and by that i mean less than 5.

Also are there any safe NDP ridings left? it feels like everyone is leaving.

Jagmeet only won the by-election on Monday and now Cullen and Rankin are done with with federal politics. I think that Brosseau and a few others who are popular despite their party will hang on.

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

This is interesting, I meant to address this when I first read it, as what you state is being repeated by others too, not only in terms of share value and potential growth or not, but in terms of 'people retaining jobs' and thus the argument of "too big to fail" being espoused by Morneau, Trudeau et al.

Here's the thing, contrary to claims, SNC-L effectively won't go anywhere. It might well dissolve, if some stories are to be believed, but the essence of the company won't just evaporate, or the corporate know-how and organization, it will just 'open shop again' under a new name and/or new management.

The reason SNC-L is as large as it is is that there's a lack of like companies in Canada to fill that role. This isn't a case of 'too much competition to slice the pie and survive'...it's one of (and BBD fits the same musty mold) bad management doing stupid things and getting caught. Illegal things.

That must not be overlooked! Accomodated? Yes, but not to see bad actors go free. The entity will survive, whether the bad apples are punished or not.

Two cents: SNC Lavalin is accused of being a corrupt organization. Not a badly managed one.

 

[steveintoronto]

Two cents: SNC Lavalin is accused of being a corrupt organization. Not a badly managed one.

That's what the discussion was about. So is Bombardier:
Bombardier's Moscow office raided in corruption probe - The Globe

Further to my points on SNC-L, the Globe has an in-depth examination of the issue as their featured headline for today's opening web-page:

Justice, jobs and SNC-Lavalin: How much does the engineering giant matter to the economy?
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in hot water over efforts to protect the firm from a criminal trial. His defenders say he’s trying to protect thousands of jobs. The economic facts are more complicated.

Justice, jobs and SNC-Lavalin: How much does the engineering giant matter to the economy?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in hot water over efforts to protect the firm from a criminal trial. His defenders say he’s trying to protect thousands of jobs. The economic facts are more complicated.

www.theglobeandmail.com

It is subscription, so I'll consider what to post from it later to conform with 'Fair Use Doctrine' (actually a US legal definition, but the gist applies here too) but suffice to say that it details many of the points I made.

 

[steveintoronto]

A far greater number have also been exposed to French instruction in schools and would not need that much of a boost to achieve passable fluency.

This is an important point, albeit I question "almost 1/3 of all Canadians are fluently bilingual"...I'd agree with the number but with 'passable' French, not fluent.

But to get past that and right to the point of being an effective PM, I offer up Jean Chrétien, who had barely passable language skills in either English or French. He was a bully, a tyrant, thug and cheat. But one of Canada's most effective leaders. Ever. He stood up to Bush Jr when most of the Western World was acquiescent or criminally complicit (Tony Blair is an example, but don't get me started on that one)(It involved the then UK A-G in much the same way JWR is today in Canada, and she discussed the point in the cmte hearings. Lord Goldsmith's legal advice was altered without his permission. THAT is criminal, as it crossed the line that JWR feels was approached, but not crossed in her case).

You don't have to be an accomplished linguist to get:

A proof is a proof. And when you have a good proof, it's because it's proven.

It's a profound nonsense, and brilliant in saying far more than something in more orthodox terms.

I don't know how the point on JWR's bilinguality was lost to some posters, I itemized it in detail and reference. I blame language difficulties...

 

[steveintoronto]

Here is a nifty little trick.

Read the terms and agreement. Fair Use Doctrine applies verbatim:

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[...]
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The Outline

It's not for everyone. It's for you.

theoutline.com

If I quote, it will give full and complete attribution of source and author(s). That is allowed if the content quoted is relevant to and continuous to a string of discussion otherwise extant apart from the quoted source.

If you do you use the link @WislaHD supplies, it's wise to use a stealth mode. They use all your digitally supplied details in whichever way they wish.

THE SECTIONS BELOW TITLED “BINDING ARBITRATION” AND “CLASS ACTION WAIVER” CONTAIN A BINDING ARBITRATION AGREEMENT AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER. THEY AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS. PLEASE READ THEM.

1. USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
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[...]

 

[steveintoronto]

I wouldn’t want to be a shareholder or employee of SNC Lavalin nowadays, looks like you’re going to be hurt badly. Though I predict the courts will acquit the company of the worst charges, so this whole pressure on the AG wasn’t necessary

The Globe and Mail reports:

[...]
Among the biggest pieces of federal work is SNC-Lavalin’s role in building Montreal’s new Champlain Bridge. Federal procurement records show the company is also executing dozens of other contracts, many of them tiny, three or four-figure deals such as washing windows in federal buildings and inspecting fire systems.

For investors, the Canadian work is peanuts. Most of the company’s market value is tied to SNC-Lavalin’s 16.76 per cent stake in Ontario’s Highway 407 toll road, which stretches from Burlington to Pickering and gives paying motorists a way to bypass the area’s more congested arteries. It is a money machine for its owners, including Spain’s Ferrovial SA and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Analysts estimate SNC-Lavalin’s stake is worth about $5-billion or $28.50 per share (the company’s stock closed the week at $36.57). The highway generated a profit margin of 41 per cent on revenue of $382.7-million in the third quarter ended Sept. 30.

Desjardin’s Poirier said he believes SNC-Lavalin could handle any potential ban from federal contracts if it were found guilty on the criminal charges. He said SNC-Lavalin management indicated to him in a meeting that it would be able to diversify the balance of its exposure away from Canada to other regions over a three-year period.
[...]

Justice, jobs and SNC-Lavalin: How much does the engineering giant matter to the economy?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in hot water over efforts to protect the firm from a criminal trial. His defenders say he’s trying to protect thousands of jobs. The economic facts are more complicated.

www.theglobeandmail.com

Though I predict the courts will acquit the company of the worst charges, so this whole pressure on the AG wasn’t necessary

This remains the essential point. And as the story linked states (gist) "Full blown efforts are still underway to rewrite the terms of prosecution". It may never come before the courts, let alone to request legal relief if charged.

Let's agree at this point that it was fatally unwise for the Cabinet and Prime Hooligan to act the way they did. And needless to say, this has 'gone around the World' to show us up for the hypocritical nation we are on these matters. Just ask the Chinese...even they now have the cudgel to beat us with that they didn't have before.

 

[steveintoronto]

It is tangent to the topic surmise, but very important to keep this site as well as your personal details as confidential as possible. Oddly, UT staff seem more concerned with pic copyright than text, perhaps because there's an active campaign on the web to enforce that more than text.

Excellent examination here:

Fair Use and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Authors Alliance is grateful to Angel Antkers & Susan Miller, Student Attorneys, University of Colorado Samuelson-Glushko Technology Law & Policy Clinic, for contributing the following gues…

www.authorsalliance.org

 

[Jasmine18]

The issue is not that one needs to learn French to become PM.

The issue is Trudeau Sr, Mulroney, Chretien and now Trudeau JR has been caught up in Quebec corruption scandals.

It is rather clear that Prime Ministers from Quebec are willing to get dirty for the interests of that province and that the voters in that province reward them with it.

 

[steveintoronto]

I was unaware that Sir John A was from Quebec.

List of political scandals in Canada - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org